Birth Year Tunes on "American Idol"

Songs From The Year of Their Birth night on "American Idol," in which we learn this year's Idolettes were born in some pretty bleak years for song-writing -- and learn fascinating things about their childhoods.

'Idol' contestant Danny Gokey. (Fox)

But first -- baby pictures of the "American Idol" judges. Randy Jackson looking adorable. Paula Abdul looking like she's had a nose job since. Kara DioGuardi looking like, she says, Simon Cowell was her babysitter -- ick -- and Simon looking like an armed member of The Mod Squad. Also show host Ryan Seacrest with an overbite which Paula delights in mocking.

On to the Idolettes:

Danny Gokey's earliest memory: I can sing -- it must be fate!
The judges are nearly as intent on promoting Danny as singer-destined-to-be-great, though he's no better than Idolettes Matt Giraud or Kris Allen -- just less modest. Danny gives his usual okay not great performance, singing "Stand By Me," which was actually first recorded about two decades before Danny was born. But, Seacrest says, it's okay because Danny's singing "the Mickey Gilley" version, from the year Danny was born. Paleeze. He gets the usual Gokey Pass from the judges. Even judge Simon Cowell savages one part of his performance but still gives him an overall "great," thereby introducing The Gokey Curve -- a new grading standard on "American Idol."

Kris, who wanted to be a taxi driver as a child, sings Don Henley tune "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" while playing guitar, standing waist deep in fraudience in the "American Idol" Faux Mosh Pit. Absurdly, Simon calls this modest little guy's performance "indulgent." If that's indulgent, Adam Lambert must be The Sun King. Kara doesn't like it much either but grows afraid when the audience begins to "boo" her. "Still a fan!" she hastens to add at the end of nicking Kris. Kara's started to hunch over and wave her arms whenever she gives Idolettes bad reviews -- a sort of sorting-through-the-dirty-laundry thing. Next week we'll analyze her odd mouth.

Lil Rounds was named Lil in honor of the first three letters of her grandmother's name, which was Lily. Lil has chosen Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It. " At some point, early on in this competition, Lil appeared to be able to sing. This is no longer the case, which the judges note in various ways -- even Perpetually Positive Paula calls Lil's performance a "beautiful karoake rendition," which is surely as bad as it gets.

Anoop Desai, dressed as one of The Letterman, has learned he's better at ballads, although he suffers R&B relapses. After explaining that he hates photographs because of his mother, who apparently took too many of him as a child, causing him immeasurable pain and suffering, he ballads his way through Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" while we resist the urge to clump him over the head with a blunt instrument. And the judges pump him up again -- guaranteeing snarling R&B Anoop will be back next week. Anoop is the Jekyll & Hyde of "Idol."

The judges are starting to tire of Scott. Even Paula calls his high notes " screechy," and Simon says he had no business putting electric guitar in that tune.

Allison Iraheta, singing Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me." As usual, she's laps ahead of the other Idolettes, although, inexplicably, she has spent time sitting in the Stemware of Shame during results nights this season. The judges have actually run out of ways to praise her and are reduced to talking about how she needs to be more talkative and likeable during the pre-and-post performance blather with them and Seacrest, so more viewers will like her personally, and vote for her.

By the time they get to Matt, the show is running so late the judges have been told to keep their critiques to two words or less. Lucky break for Matt, who mauls Stevie Wonder's "Part-time Lover."

And, finally, Adam says he wanted to be a performer from an early age and he's glad he stuck with it. Who else but Adam would perform Tears for Fears's "Mad World" while bathed in dark blue, so you could only judge him on his voice?

They've run out of time, so only Simon gets to speak -- and he says "words are unnecessary" and instead gives Adam a standing ovation. How did they run so long on time. Couldn't they time the baby clips? And is it too early yet to acknowledge that if Adam or Allison doesn't win this thing the whole season will have to be declared null and void?

I'm not sure if I've even heard that version of "Stand By Me" and for good reason, it is terrible. I was sure that Simon would say the arrangement was awful, but when he didn't, I was shocked. Agreed, some sort of Danny curve going on here.

Scott has to go, I can't take his awkwardness anymore. Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder wore/wear sunglasses, he should too. We were beginning to think his guitar was part of his outfit since it took so long for him to play it. Punk side? Clearly he doesn't know what punk is, so get out. Now.

Enough of Lee-ill already.

I don't think I've heard the song Adam did either, but I think I liked it. The boy continues to amaze.

It would be inappropriate for Scott to wear sunglasses, as he is able to see a small amount. In an interview, he likens it to looking through a straw. So, sunglasses would impair his vision even more.

Now....I tivoed last night and it cut off before Adam even took the stage. AI's inability to keep the show on time is shameful. The video packages are pre-recorded, so they know the length. They know the length of the songs, they just need to set time limits on the judges yapping. Inexcusable that people who tivoed would miss an entire performance. Fortunately, it was someone who is definitely safe (and deserves to be).

Scott has to go, but it looks like Kris is in serious danger this week.

This was the first week I really didn't like Danny's performance. It was just rough and the arrangement was horrid.
Actually overall I didn't really like any of them much this week.
However, I also didn't get to see Adam because of the dvr cutoff. Though I really do like Mad World. Is it safe to assume he did the Gary Jules version from Donnie Darko?

2. I can't add anything to the "If Kris is indulgent, what do you call Adam" line, it was perfect.

3. For what it's worth, some of us have been claming from the start that Little has never really been that good. It's nice to see everyone comming around.

4. I have to disagree with the "pumping up Anoop" part. If anything I think the judges savage him when he does poorly, and are lukewarm when he does well (like he did this week). The "Singing Yo-yo" line from Simon I felt was apt.

5. Someone put Scott out of his misery, please.

6. Matt might actually get the boot this week, even as bad as Scott was. Matt has no niche of fans, and no sympathy vote.

7. I have nothing to add about Allison, she is my favorite at this point and did great.

8. Can we just start calling the last spot the "Adam Spot?" Have we completely dropped the pretense that performance order is somehow random? Adam gave his usual performance, everyone loves it and he will probably win. I think he sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

Allison and Adam are definitely head and shoulders above the rest. A few of the others can sing, but aren't memorable. Most of the guys are interchangeable. I will make a prediction, Adam will get voted off in a week or two and the judges will use their save an idol vote to keep him on. Personally I think Adam doesn't have to win, he will probably be cast in some broadway show and have a great career. It would be better for him to get away from the Idol machine.

I think that this is going to boil down to a final two of Adam and Allison. My prediction is that Adam will win but won't do much beyond his first album and Allison will continue to grow into her voice, hook up with a great producer and be very successful.

Adam's performance was good. The fact that it was miles ahead of everyone else's is what made it stand out so much. Adbspam: the arrangement was the same as Gary Jules' but the vocals were different, except for the falsetto. I think he did manage to get the haunting tone of the lyrics across though. There was enough emotion in his voice to make you think he's actually experienced the "Mad World" the song describes.

I think Scott should go too but be fair, the 'punk side' comment was an effort at self-deprecating humor, no? The judges become more arbitrary every week. It is clear they hate it when people talk back, but last night Alison was encouraged to talk more, and Simon told someone that it was ok to be "horrible" back to them if they were horrible to the performer. If only Megan Caw-Caw had known that. Oh, but wait . . .

Matt, Scott, and Lil were AWFUL. Really awful. They absolutely deserve to be in the bottom three. I am betting Lil will go home. Based on previous results - Alexis/Allison in the B3 while Scott has emerged virtually unscathed - I would say Lil is a goner. Matt gets votes based on JT cuteness factor and Scott gets sympathy votes. Lil is going to be left out to dry, I think.

Question is: will the judges save her? Despite her not being a very strong singer (IMHO), the judges seem to really like her.

I don't know why anyone thinks the judges like Lil. They savage her for song choice every week and their responses have really seemed no better than luke warm.

I wondered how they were going to get out of a dilemma they created last night. Lil was called karoake for doing 'What's Love Got to Do With It' in the original arrangement. The Alison (undeniably great) does 'I Can't Make You Love Me' in the original arrangement yet everything about her is wonderful...

Gokey's smugness reaches out from my TV and slimes my entire living room.

Allison was terrific. Adam was astonishing. Allison has the potential to be an amazing talent. But she won't be American Idol. It'll be excruciating to watch her perform as a supporting cast member on the Idol tour, as they are all contractually obligated to do. But once she gets past that drivel she will do great things.

Once again, agree completely with VTDuffman. Can't jump on the Adam bandwagon, and it is painfully obvious that they have dropped any pretense about the "random" order of performances. I guess they really don't want any more Taylor Hicks disasters. I can't imagine that Adam will have a very long or successful career as a solo artist. Obviously, there are people who like his voice and style (I am not one), but I really can't see him lasting very long. If he already has a career in musical theater, I think he will be much better off sticking with that career. It is very clear, however, that the producers and judges, have already determined the outcome in his favor.

Thought I was the only one who's been creeped out by Scott's wandering eyeballs. Thanks MaltyCharacter - we both agree on the sunglasses thing!

A new high level of mediocrity last night! Hate to say it, but the high point for me was Adam's performance. He's still an oddball but the manboy can sing. Allison has pipes too, but she's slightly lacking in the personality department - at least from a "Hollywood marketing" standpoint.

I’m over Lil. I’m over Matt. He was horrible last night. Lil had the underdog support early on but it’s eroded. She let us all down when she bombed on Motown night. We’re a fickle, unforgiving audience. You only get one shot with us y’all.

hey, finally caught the show after missing the last couple weeks. This one was better than most but that doesn't say a whole lot does it?

First, did Paula get collagen injections for her lips or was it just the weird pale lipstick? She also seemed oddly coherent last night. Even Simon commented when she started spouting musical theory (you know that bit about chord progressions and stuff).

Well, the runover meant that I caught Adam on the front end of a Fox scripted show I actually like, "Fringe", but thanks to the Idol OT, I will now never know what happened to the empathic feral albino child. Damn Idolettes.

Singing ability aside - Allison (who's always been my No. 1 choice) and Adam (who is now my No. 2) deserve that ranking for picking the two best songs. I've always loved Bonnie Raitt, and she's not a natural choice for most singers. As for "Mad World" - it has always been beautiful and haunting - and didn't really "need" the blue light - but that's the big difference (to me) between Allison and Adam.

Adam is a very studied, staged performer. He's like those professional photographs of food that looks so beautiful - but you know it's because it's glued to stay together or pumped up with silicone or something - and otherwise isn't much substance to really bite into or taste.

Allison, on the other hand, is a raw and natural talent - except the "look". And I think that's the "problem" - the "look" should better reflect the raw and natural and then the whole package would be complete.

The fact that Adam's bio explained he liked capes and masks as a child came as no big surprise. Adam IS what he looks. I don't really think Allison is.

Unlike the judges, I don't want her to "lighten up" - I want her to raw and natural up - whatever that would look like. Maybe it looks like Bonnie Raitt - who also happens to have rather brilliant red hair (or used to). But I just know it doesn't look like an old "Buffy" or "Highlander" costume - '80s or '90s at best.

Phantom of the Idol is just fine if you're into that - but Bonnie Raitt is better.

"I could be totally making this up, but I thought I heard somewhere that Adam has been doing Broadway since he was like 12 or something."

VTD - Adam has apparently done musical theater since he was 10, with his first role being in "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown." I couldn't find any more info on him until he landed his 'breakout' role a few years ago -

Adam was an understudy for the role of Fiyero in LA's production of "Wicked," as well as the Original First National Tour Cast. Truly, I've been a fan since the beginning - but after hearing him sing from Wicked rather than what he does on Idol, it has given me a whole new respect for him.

Maybe theater is where he belongs, who knows? Either way, the guy definitely has talent - but this show may not be his niche. :) Clearly quite a few people feel that way on this column. I loved his "Mad World."

I LOVED Allison last night! For once I felt like she chose the perfect song for her voice! If America voted otherwise this week, I will be extremely unhappy!

If I don't LOOK at Matt, I usually like him more. I know that's sad, but it's true.

Scott has worn out his welcome.

Kris Allen is dead last on DialIdol - man, I hope they are wrong this week!! I really enjoy watching Kris. (Adam also took #1 from Danny Gokey, which is worth mentioning since Danny has been king of DI for weeks now.)

Anoop - bleh. I forget about him before the show is even over.

Lil - The judges shouldn't waste their save. But they will if it comes to that.

Danny - The arrangement was a nightmare, but his voice sounded a great deal less painful than his Rascal Flatts last week.

VTDuffman have to agree with all your points in your first post. I personally cant stand anything about Adam! So the indulgent line is great, and I have thought this whole season that they have droped all pretense that the show is fixed. The comments from week to week by the judges are always contradictory. Scott was particularly bad last night and I have said all along that if he wasnt getting the sympathy vote he would not even have been in the top 12.

I agree with LDeM's review of Danny (holder of the "Gokey Pass"); Lil (no longer relevant); Anoop-the-cover-artist (one of the Lettermen -- dead on!); Scott (who does not know what punk is); Allison ("laps ahead" but strangely has seen B3 twice); and Adam (at least I THINK Lisa praised him -- hard to tell.) I disagree with her on Kris and Matt. If Kris's song wasn't indulgent, then it was certainly overproduced to the point I was concentrating on even recognizing it, and not on Kris's performance of it. Matt sang much better but is still either very good or very average. I did not like Adam's lighting. Not sure if "concentrating on his voice" was his intent or not (we do that anyway) but that backlighting should've been lifted halfway through it so we could see his face and connect with him.

B3 -- Anoop, Scott and Lil, w/ Scott to go.

The judges have two weeks to choose to use the save, then one final week to use it or lose it. They MAY use it to save Lil but not the other two. (If not, then they will validate to have given up on her, just as many of us already have.) They WILL use it tonight on anyone else who is inexplicably an upset pick to leave.

He didn't do the 1982 Tears for Fears 'Mad World'. He did the remake for the movie Donnie Darko.

My question is this- is Simon giving him a standing ovation because of his arrangement of the original Tears for Fears song? If so, well, we have fraud. If you listen to the Donnie Darko version of that song, it is very very similar to what Adam did, and his unique flare was minor.

Scott-ugh, time to go. Expect Paula to lavish on PC stuff tonight.

Allison- good performance, horrible hair, horrible skirt.

Kris- bleh. Maybe next week they should put him on a spinning platform with his shirt off to give the mosh pit what they want. Obviously what he is singing doesn't matter.

Lil- no creativity. None. Time to put up or shut up. All of the respect for the genre and original artist stuff was just a cover for her lack of originality.

Matt-nice job. Needed to toss the hat and moondance.

Danny- still on track for Christian contemporary stardom, still likeable, still fun to listen to

Anoop- oh the apology was a bit much...yeah we know you need to Disney-ify your image even more, but really no need to bow and scrape. Still waiting for him to sing Louie Louie

Allison is refreshing and an astonishing talent. If she wins, my faith in AI (such as it ever was) will be restored. But she probably won't. Hoping for Final 2 at least.

Adam and Allison for the Final 2. Now that would actually be fun! What I like best about Adam: he's so good and strong that he's the ultimate anti-Gokey insurance.

Speaking of Danny Dorkey, he comes across (paraphrasing Peter Ustinov) as a carbunkle on the rear end of American Idol.

Of course time for poor overmatched Scott to go. But I'd like to see Lil or Dorkey go first (wishin' and hopin')

Some week Allison is going to give the knockout performance of the year. Simon's probable response: "Well, that was actually quite good. But ... the buckles on your shoes were quite distracting and took away from the performance as a whole". [Simon then blathers on about her shoe buckles for 65 seconds. Clueless Randy and Kara the Parrot then echo Simon]

Very good way to put it, Lisa! Poor Anoop... I thought he was really charming in a geeky college boy way at first (he was even in an a capella group--how much more preppy college can you get than that? :D Fabulous!), but his temper is a bit off-putting and while he *does* sing well (much better than Scott and Lil, definitely), he's not the best. I wouldn't be too upset if he went home tonight.

I fear, however, for poor Kris... Dial Idol has him as the lowest vote-getter and I don't know if the judges would waste their Save on him. Although, in my opinion, he sings solidly enough to win if he plays up the hotness factor and nabs the tween/housewife vote. But considering this is the guy who naively features his gorgeous, blond wife in like the second week of the show, he's probably not savvy enough about sex appeal to pull it off. Too bad~ the boy is talented and really might have had a shot at winning.

At least, that's what I thought until Adam's performance last night. Can I just say that he *transformed* the Idol stage with his performance? Every week, he puts on such an amazing show that it feels like we're at The Adam Lambert Concert, but last night was on a totally different level. It wasn't just an Adam Lambert Concert anymore--it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime, almost transcendent performances that you stumble upon accidentally (maybe at the end of a long, really jammin' concert by a truly talented, long-established performer) and will remember all your life. Timeless. That's what it was; I bet you, even if Seacrest or the director, etc, was staring in terror at the clock prior to his performance, counting seconds and worrying about fitting in the time slot, the second the lights went down and Adam started singing, they stopped counting and just WATCHED. You kind of had to. It's the kind of performance that arrests you wherever you are and just entrances you. I almost felt privileged to have been able to experience it.

After that, even the most "I dunno about this guy" folks out there had to have felt the power of that performance and (if they have any sense of fairness in them at all) should start voting for him. As long as Adam can keep the tide up and keep the flame down (sad as that is), I think the rightful winner of the season actually has a shot at winning this thing...! Go, Adam!!

P.S. Allison, as always, rocked unbelievably. This time, I got my lazy butt off the couch and voted 30 times for her (and for Adam too... hehehe). She is far too talented to ever be in the Bottom 3--shame on me and everyone else for being too lazy to vote the last few weeks! If we don't get going, the Gokey Squad (spurred by religious fervor to vote every week unfailingly no doubt) is going to steal the season from the two people who deserve to win.

AmuseMe -- I agree on Matt also. I didn't see what was so good about his version or the performance as a whole. I can't agree on Kris. Every week, I go over in my mind who is left, and every week I forget Kris. That is his main problem -- nothing about him stands out. He is not painfully bad, he looks very standard issue, Old Navy, basic haircut, cookie-cutter, squishy white bread common, and nothing about his singing makes him memorable enough to remember he is even in the competition. Then again, because Adam is getting the last or next-to-last spot every week, Kris has been first, second, or third most weeks, and that makes it very easy to forget about him.

For the record, Glambert has NOT done Broadway. He has been in musical theater since he was 10. One of his earlier bios said that as soon as he was independent he moved to Hollywood and has been performing there. He has not been to New York and not performed on a national tour. He has no record in IBDB (the Internet Broadway DB). And I have to say that as a musical theater afficionado, his voice is impressive, but not unique. The halls of Broadway are filled with his like. He only dresses differently. And most of them have no interest in moving out to the pop world. Yes, he might do well there, but it's still questionable whether his is a single-threat in a triple-threat world (singing, dancing and acting). Without the other three, he has a career as a feature performer, but not a star or lead performer. Although, now that he has fame and recognition from AI, he might do better. Producers like name buzz to bring in business from people payng to see the name performer who might oth.erwise not come and see the play

I note that the Internet blog peanut gallery is very pro-rocker...much more so than the Idol voting population it seems.
Rocker chick is very popular, but she doesn't do well with the audience. I think she'll be fading in the next 2 or 3. If you aren't into Rock and punk rock, she gets very boring, very quickly. For some of us, she has the same problem that many of you fans claim about some of the other finalists...she sounds the same every week. And if you are only "meh" on the genre, then it gets boring. I, too, thought that her Bonnie Raitt cover sounded very karaoke and she deserved the same reception as DivaWannaBe.

Although Gokey is not very popular on-line, he does seem to be popular with the calling audience as he has never been out of the top-3 on DialIdol. Now, I know that DI is not completely accurate, but still, he is still very popular, especially in the Christian Rock and Country Rock crossover categories (his Rascal Flatts cover was very popular).

I'm a tad confused why Teen heart-throb is scraping the bottom of the DialIdol barrel. It wasn't the best performance, but it was definitely much more solid than at least three other performances. Definitely doesn't deserve to be there and I still think he'll make a dark-horse run for the money.

My pick for bottom-3: Anoop, Scott, Lil in that order with Anoop borderline and Lil going home.

--- "Some week Allison is going to give the knockout performance of the year." When, exactly? Adam has already delivered two, maybe three by my count.

Given only the choice between watching Adam or Allison in competing venues, I would choose Adam. He is "show" to her "song". He is a far more interesting performer, has superior vocal ability to everyone, and can embrace a wider collection of genres. I think his arena show would trump hers. But I would certainly have Allison's radio friendly pop- or country downloads on my iPod.

Ack...typos galore above, but most importantly "Yes, he might do well there, but it's still questionable whether HE is a single-threat in a triple-threat world (singing, dancing and acting). Without the other TWO, he has a career as a feature performer, but not a star or lead performer."

If you want to hear some other theater performers with comparable chops, listen to Daniel Boys from the UK show "Any Dream Will Do" (search for "Daniel Boys" on youtube). Or Robert Cuccioli from the Jekyll & Hyde soundtrack, or Michall Ball or Michael Maguire on the Les Mis soundtrack or any of a dozen more. Adam may sound unique for AI, but he is not so unique on Broadway. Note that he was the understudy for Fiyero. His voice is not that "standout" even in regional theater. I, too, am not drinking the Adam Kool-Aid.

And at this point, I think that the judges are more likely to use their save on Kris than on Lil (should DialIdol be correct).

Lol, VTD--I figured I'd get called out for the gushing review, but I can't help it--that's what his performance did for me. Call me a romantic sap, but an inspired delivery like that just makes me feel happy to be alive. Many props to Adam for managing to move me even *through a TV*~

Well, I formulated that "knockout" scenario for Alison in order to make a point about Simon's use of peripheral distractions in order to minimize the effect of her excellent performances (please read the rest of my comment).

I fully agree with you that Adam has delivered 2 "knockouts" so far ("Tracks ..." and last night). But I think Alison is also capable of doing one. Allison and Adam are the two best by far, and in a perfect world they would be the Final 2. But alas, any world that includes Paula the Strange, Simon the Pimp, and Kara the Parrot is a few light years short of perfect.

As you admit, Allison will be the far superior recording artist, and isn't that what AI is ultimately about (not musical theater)?

I'm still gagging on the choice of an Air Supply song. Hated them back then and change the station when I hear Air Supply on the radio now.

For what it's worth: the winner of AI takes a different route from the losers, in that they get to release an indescribably schlocky song as a Bonus Embarrassment (Premium Embarrassment being getting to deal with all the screaming pre-teen Fauxfans). To wit: David Cook's "The Time of My Life." -No one can convince me he was thrilled with that song. You don't get to choose your first release as an AI winner; it's written and chosen for you.

The losers, on the other hand, will get prime exposure on their tour, and if they all aren't approached at some point before they gather for the AI Summer Lovefest by recording companies, managers, Diet Pepsi, and assorted other nefarious Industry-types, they'll each have their careers sewn up by the end of the tour. Each and every one will profit, whether it's with a product endorsement or a recording contract or an offer to act.

I guess I missed the transcendant Adam moment - distracted by his glowing pants in the fog. But Allison gave me chills, and got me to vote. Now, if we could do something with her style to make her more marketable.

BrL-- where in the world did I 'admit' that Red would be a 'far superior' recording artist?! Do you not think that a (more) popular performer (referring to my Adam-over-Allison preference in my 12:46 post) might propel much CD and download sales too? I only said that I like listening to her too -- second to Adam.

Your 'scenario' speaks volumes. Allison may indeed be capable of a knockout performance. But when? We said the same thing about Lil weeks ago and have since given up waiting on her "just wait til next week" promises. Adam has delivered. No less than Simon-the-only-judge-who-counts gave him a standing-O.

kirstenpaulson -- shame on you, for violating AmuseMe's tenet -- namely, snarking on Allison's style and linking it to her potential marketability. (Now, where did I see that thought broached a couple days ago??) You can expect a nastygram back on why 16-year olds are off limits when it comes to commenting on their look. 'Course, that doesn't apply to AmuseMe's non-favs. (Hey! I'm not the one that called AL "Glambert" above!)

Oh - I really like "Glambert", but I coined "Phantom of the Idol" (especially because of the mysteriously glowing/floating/blue man/light effects - well plus the whole cape & mask admission - which was really TMI.

In fact, maybe I should modify the moniker: "Phantom of the Idol F/X".

I seem to recall that Tracks of My Tears was the most talked about song that night. In fact, all (except you) hold it up as the measuring stick of the season. Even when she is good -- and she WAS good that night -- she is overshadowed.

Remember -- we're not allowed to comment on looks. :) or AmuseMe will sic the 7th grade police on us.

No, you are wrong RedRocket. I will not send a nastygram to kp (although I will be looking into patenting them). I save my criticisms for those pathetic losers who comb the comments looking to point out other posters mistakes and criticize them in the name of snark.

Really it is a wonder that you are even home on Tues. & Wed. nights to watch AI b/c you must be really popular.

If anyone is just noticing that AI manipulates the results, you were in a coma for a few years. Carrie Underwood was Simon's clear favorite from the earliest episodes...and guess who won. Based on subsequent success in the marketplace, they were right to anoint her, but the result of the competition was foreshadowed.

HollywoodGirl - thanks for the link! My DVR cut off before the last performance ... HOW can it be that nobody can solve this technical DVR problem? I don't get that. And yes, I'm smart enough to program it so it runs 5 minutes longer but the DVR does not like me messing with it and always sets the start and end times back to the actual start and end times of the show (according to the guide, not the "live" end times, of course). This is so annoying.

did anyone notice the difference of Adam Lambert's ending.(04/07/09) We recorded american idol and noticed a big difference in the ending of his song and the ending of it during the recap.
WAS THERE PITCH CORRECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!
has american idol gone too far? can they make it any more obvious who they want to be the next idol winner. show some integrity fox!!!
WAKE UP AMERICA

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The idol performances are recorded in the earlier "dress rehearsal" and those are used to edit a review clip before the phone lines are opened for voting. The judges sometimes listen to the earlier performance and prepare their comments based on that, not the live version. Sometimes you can hardly notice a difference in the recorded version and the live one, others it jumps out. Adam's last "live" note was BAD, clearly missed the note - on his review clip it's not there, he didn't even attempt that note in the earlier performance.